Sheffield Institute for Nucleic Acids

Nucleic Acid Chemical Biology

As the fundamental molecule of life, the interactions and reactions of nucleic acids have fascinated chemists for decades.

Work in this theme includes the application of chemical principles and techniques to understanding nucleic acid systems, using chemistry to intervene in nucleic acid processes to gain understanding or for therapeutic benefit, and using nucleic acids as an inspiration to design new functional molecules.

Our work involves:

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of enzymes that interact with and catalyse reactions of nucleic acids

Understanding the molecular mechanisms and repair of DNA damage

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of RNA modification and processing

Imaging nucleic acids in cells

Therapeutic intervention in nucleic acid systems

Underpinning chemistry to study genome stability and gene expression

DNA damage recognition and repair

NMR structure of a luminescent probe bound to the Human Telomere Sequence